“The equivalent of a World Cup where everyone represents their country”: in China, a record number of climbers will attempt the “Grand Slam” of the 14

The dream of 14 summits within reach of a record number of climbers. Screenshot X @nimsdai

Never have the slopes of the feat been so crowded. More than twenty climbers want to launch this year the assault of Shisha Pangma (China) to win their “Holy Grail”: the ascent of the 14 highest peaks on the planet.

“This season promises to be the most interesting in history”, sums up impatiently the German columnist Eberhard Jurgalski, who runs the site 8000ers.com. The climbers who are rushing to the base camp of this 8,027 m high mountain, in the south of the autonomous region of China of Tibet, have already all climbed the 13 other “8,000” ranges of the Himalayas and the Karakoram.

Everyone had been champing at the bit since China's decision last year to suspend permits for Shisha Pangma after two American women and their Sherpas died in an avalanche. The race for the feat has finally resumed this season, to the great delight of the contenders.

Since last week, six of the contenders have already succeeded and added their names to the list of those – barely fifty – who have already succeeded in this improbable marathon of the peaks. A good fifteen are ready to join them. Never seen before in a single season…

Less and less time needed 

"We are a growing community, we come from all over the world", rejoices one of them, Pakistani Shehroze Kashif, 22 years old. "It's good news, they are all realizing their dream like I am doing". The conquest of the 14 peaks over 8,000 m has long been a life's work. It took Italian legend Reinhold Messner 16 years to be the first on the list in 1986.

The pace of the feat has since accelerated considerably. Just a few years. Or even less. In 2019, the Nepalese-British Nirmal Purja, known as "Nimsdai", broke the speed record by planting his ice axe on all 14 summits in just six months.

Returning this year to the Shisha Pangma base camp to repeat his feat without oxygen, he released a documentary on the Netflix platform at the end of his campaign that definitively transformed the long-distance race into sprint.

So calm, yet extremely lethal #shishapangma #14peaksnimsdai #k2winter #nimsdaistore #uksf #gurkha #K2WinterNoO2 #AchieveYourNewPossible #NothingIsImpossible #14PeaksNothingIsImpossible #uksf #Gurkha #BeyondPossible #MotivationalSpeaker #14peaksno02 pic.twitter.com/I24fdk3X4A

— Nirmal Purja MBE (@nimsdai) October 1, 2024

This is largely explained by advances in mountaineering techniques, weather forecasting and, above all, logistical support. Many climbers are now supported by large support teams and travel from one base camp to another by helicopter, in order to attempt several ascents each season.

From 270,000 to 630,000 euros

“It is clear that the pioneers of the past attempted much more difficult, dangerous and exceptional climbs”, observes Eberhard Jurgalski. “Now, everything can be done in less than three months, the logistics are top notch”. After Nirmal Purja, the Norwegian Kristin Harila and her Nepalese guide Tenjen Lama managed to raise the record to… 92 days.

Mingma Sherpa, who heads Nepal's largest mountain expedition agency Seven Summit Treks, confirms that the number of candidates for the 14 “8,000” summit continues to grow. “People rarely decide to tackle all 14 summits at once. They climb one or two and then the mountain takes them", he notes, "and they decide to climb all the highest ones".

According to his estimates, the cost of the performance can vary from 300,000 to 700,000 dollars (from 270,000 to 630,000 euros). Not enough to discourage vocations. “When you cross the line, it's historic”, comments one of the candidates, Dawa Yangzum Sherpa.

If you can take the quickest route, why not try ?

“I sometimes feel like it's the equivalent of a World Cup where everyone represents their country”. The Nepalese guide hopes to become the first Nepalese woman on the list of conquerors of the 14 summits. By doing it in style.

“Some climb the 14 summits, some even climb Everest several times, but they wouldn't be able to do it alone, without any support”, she complains. Purists have thus scratched Nirmal Purja and Kristin Harila for resorting without limits to helicopters, for using pre-equipped voices or for having surrounded themselves with plethora of teams.

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They see it as a dangerous distortion of the spirit of mountaineering, like these dangerous jostlings of wealthy amateurs on the slopes of Everest. Criticism that leaves Russian Alina Pekova cold, who entered the race last year to cross the finish line this season.

The climber says she understands the criticism but believes that there are simply "different" ways to get there. "If you can take the fastest route, why not try ?", she asks. “It's just another challenge”.